Jessica Norton The Jersey Shore has been the starting point for some seriously big brands. From a tiny Point Pleasant sub shop that became Jersey Mike’s to a Belmar açaí stand that grew into Playa Bowls, businesses born along the coast have made their way far beyond the beaches where they began. Maybe it’s the Jersey pride, creative energy, or entrepreneurial spirit that comes with growing up here, but we have no shortage of people turning local ideas into businesses with national followings. Read on to learn more about companies that got their start at the Jersey Shore.
Bubbakoo’s Burritos
Before it became a national franchise, Bubbakoo’s Burritos was simply a local burrito spot serving hungry Jersey Shore residents in Point Pleasant Borough. Founded in 2008 by Bill Hart and Paul Altero, the restaurant quickly built a following thanks to its oversized portions, creative menu, and laid-back beachy personality. What started as a single neighborhood eatery eventually expanded into more than 150 locations across 17 states. Bubbakoo’s has kept its roots close to home, with its headquarters still located in Wall Township.
Hazel Boutique
Hazel Boutique has grown from a small startup into one of the Jersey Shore’s most recognizable fashion brands. Jenna Campfield opened the business in 2013 with a handful of clothing racks in her parents’ Farmingdale home before opening its first storefront in Belmar. Since then, Hazel has built a devoted following, with its signature sweatshirts and matching sets becoming something of an unofficial uniform for young women at the Jersey Shore and beyond. Today, it’s not uncommon to spot celebrities and influencers from outside of New Jersey wearing their branded sweatshirts. Summer weekends bring lines stretching down the block outside of Hazel’s retail stores and cafe.
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Few Jersey Shore-founded businesses have made an impact quite like Jersey Mike’s. The sandwich chain got its start in Point Pleasant, where a small shop called Mike’s Subs opened in 1956 and became a go-to spot for locals and summer visitors alike. In 1975, Point Pleasant native Peter Cancro, who had been working at the shop since he was 14, purchased the business at just 17 years old with the help of a loan arranged by his high school football coach, as explained in a profile piece by Entrepreneur. After spending more than a decade growing the company locally, Cancro began franchising in 1987 and rebranded the business as Jersey Mike’s, a name that proudly highlighted its New Jersey roots. What began as a single neighborhood sub shop at the Shore has since grown into a brand with more than 3,300 locations nationwide, making it one of the most successful restaurant chains ever to come out of the Jersey Shore. It is currently in the early stages of a global expansion into the international market. Even as the company has expanded across the U.S. and beyond, its Point Pleasant roots remain front and center. In fact, no matter where a Jersey Mike’s is located, whether it’s in a California strip mall, a Texas suburb, or an airport terminal, the walls are decorated with photos and memorabilia that pay tribute to Point Pleasant and the Jersey Shore where it all began.
Read more: Restaurants + Bars Where You Won’t Miss That Jersey Shore Vibe Year-Round
Jetty
If you’ve spent any time in a coastal beach town, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Jetty, the apparel brand known for its surf-inspired clothing, hats, accessories, and gear. The company was founded in 2003 by five friends who began selling T-shirts and hats inspired by their lives on the coast. What started as a small local brand eventually grew into a nationally recognized company, with Jetty products now sold at hundreds of retailers and surf shops across North America. The company has remained rooted in Ocean County, where its headquarters and flagship store are located in Manahawkin. Surfing, fishing, art, music, and the ocean continue to influence the brand, while its Jetty Rock Foundation gives back to the coastal communities and waterways that helped inspire it.
Playa Bowls
Playa Bowls is another Jersey Shore-born brand that took a beach-town idea and turned it into a national business. The company was founded in 2014 by surfers Rob Giuliani and Abby Taylor, who brought their love of açaí bowls home after discovering them while traveling to surf destinations around the world. They started selling bowls from a small stand in Belmar, and the concept quickly caught on with Shore locals. That first stand eventually became a permanent storefront and the beginning of a much larger expansion, with Playa Bowls now boasting more than 400 locations across the country.
Ron Jon Surf Shop
Ron Jon Surf Shop has roots that run right through Long Beach Island. The brand’s first store opened in Ship Bottom in 1961, after founder Ron DiMenna began selling surfboards on LBI in the late 1950s. Two years later, Ron Jon expanded to Cocoa Beach, Florida, where its now-famous flagship helped turn the name into a nationally recognized surf brand. What began as a small surf shop on the Jersey Shore has since grown into a major destination for surfwear, beach gear, and coastal apparel, with locations well beyond its New Jersey beginnings.
Spencer’s
Spencer’s may be best known for lava lamps, gag gifts, graphic tees, and products that make you do a double take, but the longtime mall staple actually has some Jersey Shore roots. The company started as a mail-order novelty business in 1947 before opening its first brick-and-mortar store at Cherry Hill Mall in 1963. Spencer’s established its home office in Egg Harbor Township in 1977, where its headquarters still remains today, just minutes from the Jersey Shore. Over the decades, the company grew from its original Cherry Hill storefront into a recognizable specialty retailer with more than 670 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Its South Jersey campus is also home to Spirit Halloween, which Spencer’s acquired in 1999 and has since grown to more than 1,500 seasonal locations.
Surf Taco
Surf Taco is one of the Jersey Shore’s most recognizable homegrown restaurant brands. Founded by Jersey Shore native Rob Nagel, the first Surf Taco opened in Point Pleasant Beach in 2001 and it was inspired by the places he had lived, traveled, and surfed throughout California, Baja Mexico, Brazil, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. Rather than simply opening another beach-town eatery, Nagel set out to create a concept that combined fresh, casual food with the surf culture that had shaped many of his experiences. The formula resonated with Shore locals, and what started as a single taco shop has since grown into a nine-location chain across New Jersey.
See More: 21 New Jersey Food Spots That Grew Into Local “Chainlets”
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